1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system and an information processing method that are characterized by processing that relates to privilege information (e.g., a point in a consumer transaction point-accumulation system) that is issued in accordance with an act, such as a transaction that has been performed by a user in each of a real world and a virtual world.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, when a user buys a commodity in a real world, for example, in a store, a user ID (identification information) that is stored in a credit card of the user is read by a terminal apparatus that is installed in the store and sent together with price information on the commodity to a settlement server apparatus. The settlement server apparatus performs settlement processing.
For example, in a transaction that is conducted by a user in a real world by using a credit card, points are issued in accordance with, for example, the amount of money paid by the user. The user receives a certain service in accordance with the points that has been accumulated by him.
On the other hand, in recent years, with the spread of electronic commerce, events have increased that, for example, in a virtual world called “cyber world” provided by a server apparatus on a network, a registered user selects a commodity by manipulating a home personal computer using his or her own user ID while looking at a commodity introduction picture that is provided by the server apparatus and sends a request for allowing him to buy the selected commodity to the server apparatus, and the server apparatus performs related settlement processing.
In such a virtual world, as in a real world, points are issued to each registered user in accordance with his or her act in the virtual world and each user receives a certain service in accordance with the points that have been accumulated by him or her.
However, there is a problem in the art that where a user is acting in both a real world and a virtual world, privilege information, such as points, that he has acquired in one world cannot be used in the other world.